Knowing what things you can compost helps you make the most of your home composting system. Some beginner composters struggle to understand what can be composted. However, having a comprehensive list of things you can compost is much more valuable. There are two fundamental materials (greens and browns—nitrogen-rich and carbon-rich) to place in your bin.
The nitrogen-rich additions to your compost heap are green items. They frequently contain a lot of moisture, decompose quickly, and give your pile a brief burst of heat. The carbon-rich brown components provide your compost structure and aeration by adding air to the system. It’s a good idea to slice them into relatively small pieces so they decompose better.
It may be daunting trying to figure out what you can put in a composter. Take a peep at a few common examples of easy composting at home for beginners and household wastes to use in your composter and decrease your waste by producing organic fertilizer.
What Can Be Composted in a Composter?
Determining the things you can compost doesn’t have to be complicated. Whether you are an established composter looking to increase your output or new to composting and learning the ropes, setting up an indoor compost bin is a wise move. Many organic materials are compostable and boost nutrients and minerals in your compost pile.
Renowned gardener Ken Lain asserts that adding compost is the singular best thing to do for your garden. To experience the many compost pile benefits, use your home compost to make organic fertilizer for your plants or level up your lawn care. Find out below what can be composted allows you to produce high-quality finished compost.
What is Composting?
The composting process converts organic material, usually waste, into finished compost. This good compost enriches the soil to grow plants, and reduces food waste. Blending carbon and nitrogen-rich materials, or browns to greens, in a 1:3 ratio is the best way to make finished compost.
Pay close attention to the ratios if you want your compost ready quickly; your compost is ready when it begins to resemble dirt. Maintaining an exact balance is less of a concern if your main goal is preventing organic waste disposal in landfills, and access to compost is an afterthought.
Include more browns and temporarily reduce the greens in your bin if it grows moist, and give it another turn. If the items in your bin aren’t decomposing, add greens, stir, and it should begin composting again.
Methods of Composting at Home
Most people make compost out in Mother Nature in their backyards. The basic procedure for composting is erecting a compost pile. The amount of organic waste your household generates and how much indoor or outdoor space you have determines the ideal composting technique.
A compost heap requires no construction and is usually a shallow pit outdoors that easily grows or shrinks depending on your requirements. Bins are built to size depending on how much waste they hold and offer a more polished and contained look than a pile.
Tumblers come in all shapes and sizes, from countertop models to large outdoor bins. Worm bins or vermicomposters use worms to assist the process, are often used on a small scale, and are fantastic for composting indoors in limited space.
Find our simple and effective ways to compost weeds to begin your yard waste composting journey.
The Many Things You Can Compost
Plant material and waste organic matter from the garden are brilliant things to put in a compost bin. Grass clippings and live plant cuttings fall into the category of green material, while dead leaves and branches are brown material. It’s best to chop branches into smaller pieces as small items decompose readily.
Though weeds are compostable greens, it is better to exclude them. Many composters get hot enough to destroy weed seeds; the risk could be accidentally spreading weed seeds throughout your home garden while using your finished compost. The majority of gardeners opt not to compost weeds.
What Can You Put in a Composter?
The easiest way to start is by putting food scraps in a home compost bin. One of the enormous advantages of having a home composter is reducing your family’s food waste by recycling kitchen scraps into finished compost.
While most food is compostable, some items like meat and dairy require extra knowledge and preparation. Dozens of food scrap items are simple to compost and suitable for inclusion right in your bin.
Toss food waste into the composter as you generate it, or save it in a bowl in the fridge to take out in a larger batch. However, not all kitchen scraps can be composted. Learn more about food items that cannot be composted to save yourself from pests and rotten odors.
You Can Compost Dryer Lint
Although dryer lint doesn’t contain as many minerals as other materials like kitchen trash, it still contributes carbon and fiber to the compost. Place a container for collecting lint in your laundry room, such as an old milk jug or a plastic shopping bag. Collect the handful of lint you discover when cleaning the lint trap.
When the container fills, sprinkle the contents evenly over the top of the pile to compost dryer lint. Sprinkle water on the lint and stir it with a rake or shovel. Remember not to add the plastic container to your compost pile, as this inorganic material won’t decompose.
What Goes in a Compost Bin?
Though the waste generated by hot beverages may appear minor, it adds up with time, especially if you and your family drink numerous cups daily. Fortunately, lots of tea and coffee waste may be composted, although some restrictions exist.
Adding moist tea leaves to your compost bin is advantageous because they speed up decomposition. However, the components of the tea bag significantly affect how quickly it decomposes.
Compost tea bags made of paper, silk, hemp, cotton, plant fibers, and muslin. Similarly, coffee grounds and some coffee filters are biodegradable and an excellent addition to your composter.
Discover New Compostable Things – Paper Products
Hundreds of tons of used paper reach the landfill every day. People associate composting with kitchen scraps and garden trimmings, often overlooking the valuable contribution made by paper. An old paper towel or used paper plates make valuable contributions to your compost bin as they are high in carbon.
Cut paper into smaller pieces before mixing it into your composter to facilitate its integration into the existing organic matter. Though paper plates and napkins are compostable, disposable plastic cutlery and cups are not.
What can you put in a composter? People send matter like paper products and dryer lint to landfills when they make brilliant compostables. Understanding which types of waste are compostable is one of the keys to ensuring you have composting success.
Explore what you can add to your home composter to minimize household waste and increase your output of organic finished compost for the garden.
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